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I’m a big fan of Ivan E. Coyote. That fact that she writes about gender from a queer perspective already puts her on my “likely to enjoy” list, and then this video of hers (after the jump) started circulating. I posted it on Feministing a while back, but it deserves a reposting. I loved this video, watched it at least ten times since finding it.

So when I received a review copy of Ivan’s newest book of stories from Arsenal Pulp Press, Missed Her, I was psyched to see that story included.

Ivan’s writing has this refreshingly simple style to it. While many folks who right write about gender (myself included) tend to do a lot of analyzing, theorizing and philosophizing, Ivan is what she sets out to be: a storyteller. She talks about life as she lives it, as a butch who gets perceived as male sometimes, as female sometimes. As a Canadian, as a member of a big family, as a Yukoner. Her stories are simple, but underneath their simplicity lies such a powerful gender analysis.

One thing that this collection of stories lacks is the rhythm, the vibrancy that comes with hearing Ivan tell the stories herself. They ask to be heard, to be read out loud. I happened to also have a copy of her newest CD, Only Two Reasons, which includes Ivan herself reading the stories from this collection out loud. Stories are meant to be told, and Ivan’s work is no exception.

The good news is, though, that if you listen to enough of her YouTube videos, you can almost hear her reading the stories in your head as you plow through the book.

Over dinner one night, a group of New York-based Asian organizers, activists and scholars gathered to discuss the questions: “Is Asian American Feminism necessary?” and “Am I part of Asian American Feminism?”

The questions come up often due, in part, to the myth of the “model minority,” the dominance of East Asian issues within the space, and the subsequent erasure of all other Asian Americans.

Over dinner one night, a group of New York-based Asian organizers, activists and scholars gathered to discuss the questions: “Is Asian American Feminism necessary?” and “Am I part of Asian American Feminism?”

Every month we share what our team is reading. We’re about four months overdue this time around (better late than never?), so without further ado, here’s what’s on our nightstands these days…

Sejal: This month, I read Malcolm Harris’s very good Kids These Days. It’s one of the first books about millennials that’s actually, well, by a millennial, and I found a lot in it that resonated. Harris argues that from elementary school on, our lives are a boot camp designed to make us maximally productive workers, on the theory that we’d get a fair shot in the world if we just invest in our own human capital — all while an increasingly precarious economy makes that ...

Every month we share what our team is reading. We’re about four months overdue this time around (better late than never?), so without further ado, here’s what’s on our nightstands these days…

The Georgia state legislature is considering a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn LGBTQ couples away. That’s how much they hate us: they’d rather leave kids in foster care then let them be in our loving homes.

SB-375, also known as the “Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act,” would allow child-placement agencies to refuse to work with potential parents if it violates their “sincerely held religious beliefs.” As opponents pointed out on the Senate floor last week, it’s obvious who the bill is targeting: if passed, taxpayer funded adoption agencies would be free to turn away qualified LGBTQ ...

The Georgia state legislature is considering a bill that would allow adoption agencies to turn LGBTQ couples away. That’s how much they hate us: they’d rather leave kids in foster ...

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